Stephen Graham Jones Quotes

Powerful Stephen Graham Jones for Daily Growth

About Stephen Graham Jones

Stephen Graham Jones (b. October 1971) is an acclaimed American author whose work spans multiple genres including horror, mystery, fantasy, and literary fiction. Born in Colorado to a Navajo father and an Irish mother, Jones' Native American heritage plays a significant role in his writing, often serving as both inspiration and subject matter. After earning a BA in English from Eastern Washington University, Jones completed his MFA in creative writing at the University of California, Davis, studying under Pulitzer Prize-winning author Adam Johnson. This academic foundation honed his skills, enabling him to weave compelling narratives that captivate readers and critics alike. Jones' literary career began in earnest with the publication of "The Fast Red Road" (2001), a novel set on the Navajo reservation where he grew up. The book received critical acclaim for its raw portrayal of indigenous life and its exploration of darker themes. His subsequent works, such as "Mongrels" (2010) and "The Only Good Indians" (2019), continue to showcase his unique storytelling abilities while delving deeper into themes of cultural identity, family dynamics, and the supernatural. One recurring motif in Jones' work is the juxtaposition of the mundane with the fantastical – a technique that adds layers of complexity to his narratives. His stories often explore the dark corners of human nature while simultaneously illuminating the beauty and resilience within communities facing adversity. In addition to his novels, Jones has published numerous short stories in prestigious anthologies such as "Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror" (edited by Paula Guran) and "Best American Short Stories" (edited by Roxane Gay). With a prolific output of over twenty books, including novellas and collections, Jones continues to be celebrated for his innovative storytelling and compelling exploration of diverse themes.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"There is a place in every fear for what came before."

This quote by Stephen Graham Jones suggests that the roots or experiences from our past often contribute to the fears we feel in the present. Fear is not always an instinctual response; it can be influenced by our history, memories, or associations with certain events or situations. Understanding this connection between past and present can help us manage our fears more effectively, as acknowledging where they come from may provide insights into ways to overcome them.


"We're all stories, in the end. Just make it a good one, eh?"

This quote emphasizes that every individual has their unique life story. The phrase "we're all stories" suggests that our lives are narratives with various twists, turns, challenges, triumphs, and lessons. Stephen Graham Jones encourages us to "make it a good one," underscoring the importance of living intentionally and positively. In essence, he is saying that each person should strive to write an inspiring, meaningful, and fulfilling life story.


"It's never about the monster out there. It's always about the monster inside you."

This quote suggests that in many horror stories, the true source of fear or conflict is not an external creature or force, but rather the internal struggles, fears, or darker aspects within a character. The "monster out there" is often used as a symbol or metaphor for personal demons, anxieties, or inner turmoil that individuals must confront and overcome. This insight underscores the idea that our deepest fears and challenges are frequently rooted within ourselves, rather than in external circumstances.


"The sky is so much bigger than any of us can ever hope to be."

This quote emphasizes the vastness and inherent greatness of the universe compared to human limitations. It suggests that no matter how big or powerful humans may think they are, the cosmos transcends our comprehension and abilities. It serves as a humbling reminder that we are but tiny specks in the grand scheme of things, encouraging us to respect nature's mysteries and strive for greater understanding while acknowledging our insignificance within it.


"If I could find the words to tell it right, I would."

This quote by Stephen Graham Jones suggests a deep longing to communicate or express an idea, emotion, or experience accurately and effectively. It shows his commitment to telling stories that resonate truthfully, yet acknowledges the challenge of finding the perfect words for such tasks. Essentially, it reflects the struggle many writers face when they want to convey complex ideas through language.


Neal Stephenson handles exposition better than anybody else. I keep trying to learn his tricks, but every time I duck into his pages, I get lost in the stories all over again and forget that I'm a writer.

- Stephen Graham Jones

Anybody, Pages, His, Duck

The whole 'starting with stories, ending with novels' thing, it's probably too ingrained in the industry and the psyche to change it.

- Stephen Graham Jones

Change, Stories, Whole, Psyche

We watch a romantic comedy because we want to cry, say, or an action movie so we can participate in heroics. Horror's different. It can hit you with a moment of revulsion so hard you might want to erase the last five minutes of your life, please.

- Stephen Graham Jones

Life, Movie, Your, Erase

When Ellen Datlow was running the fiction at 'Omni' in the late '80s and into the '90s, I had a subscription. It was one of two subscriptions I'd saved for, the other being 'Spider-Man.' And they each opened my mind and my heart in wonderful ways.

- Stephen Graham Jones

Saved, Other, Fiction, Subscription

Vampires have become tragic or romantic figures. Vampire are largely seduction tales. They're no longer the scary creature in the dark.

- Stephen Graham Jones

Vampires, Seduction, Figures, Vampire

People shouldn't go broke making a haunted house. Or, we should pay for our enjoyment, definitely.

- Stephen Graham Jones

Enjoyment, Broke, Making, Haunted

Jeans and sneakers are definitely best for the haunted house. They usually won't let you in with a mask, even. It makes sense. They need to be able to tell who the rubes are. And, sneakers are good because the ground's uneven, and you're running and falling and stepping on the slower of your friends.

- Stephen Graham Jones

Best, Tell, Your, Haunted

You have to want the haunted house to scare you. It completely steals your money to go through with one of those people who shrug it all off, who touch the monsters' faces to show they're fake.

- Stephen Graham Jones

Want, Scare, Through, Haunted

For me, the facts in anything are always secondary. You don't lie convincingly with the truth. You lie convincingly with being a good liar.

- Stephen Graham Jones

Lie, Always, Being, Secondary

I see so, so many novels written by people who are obviously short story writers. What they end up doing, it's going the full distance, covering three hundred pages or so, but they do it by just writing five or six long stories, and weaving them together, making them interdependent.

- Stephen Graham Jones

Doing, Hundred, Covering, Weaving

Hannibal Lecter stole Leatherface's mask and ported the slasher conventions into the thriller for the early '90s.

- Stephen Graham Jones

Thriller, Hannibal, Stole, Conventions

Making people laugh is so much more difficult than making them sad. Too much fiction defaults to the somber, the tragic. This is because sad endings are easy in comparison - happy endings aren't at all simple to earn, especially when writing to an audience jaded by them.

- Stephen Graham Jones

Happy, Simple, Fiction, Endings

If you keep having to dip into the story's past to explain the present, then there's a good chance your real story's in the past, and you're just using the present as a vehicle to deliver us there.

- Stephen Graham Jones

In The Past, Explain, Using, Good Chance

Where 'Paranormal Activity' really comes into its own is its rhetoric of legitimacy - how it uses itself to authenticate itself, and thus furthers the pretence of being real.

- Stephen Graham Jones

Own, Activity, Thus, Legitimacy

You can't negotiate with a zombie. They have only one impulse - that's to eat us or our brains.

- Stephen Graham Jones

Brains, Zombie, Negotiate, Impulse

You come out of your MFA program with a cogent clutch of stories, trying to get an agent interested, and she or he admits these are quality, sure, but this agent actually needs something the publisher can make money on. So you get kind of bullied by the market into writing a novel.

- Stephen Graham Jones

Your, Agent, Program, Publisher

My uncle Randall always had a book in his hand. He read in the car, he read at restaurants, he read when you were talking to him. He read lots of different things, but mostly it was Louis L'Amour's westerns and contemporary thrillers.

- Stephen Graham Jones

Book, Uncle, Mostly, Louis

There's no purer feeling in the world than being scared.

- Stephen Graham Jones

World, Being Scared, Than, Scared

I would highly, highly recommend seeing 'Paranormal Activity' with a friend or, better yet, a group.

- Stephen Graham Jones

Seeing, Better, Would, Highly

In 1984, when 'Nightmare on Elm Street' came out, not only was I twelve and couldn't get into an R movie, but I lived twenty miles from a theater. So my first experience of it was on VHS.

- Stephen Graham Jones

Experience, Movie, Out, Twenty

If the main character's not in jeopardy - physical, psychological, emotional, whatever - then you don't have any tension, and you don't have a story.

- Stephen Graham Jones

Tension, Psychological, Main, Jeopardy

In the 40 years since 'The Amityville Horror', dramatizations of those supposedly-real events have gotten loose enough - special-effects laden enough, star-power re-packaged enough - that the audience no longer trusts the dramatization's loyalty to the core story.

- Stephen Graham Jones

Audience, Horror, Gotten, Loose

Stories need stupid decisions that, at the time, seem absolutely rational and necessary. Without stupid decisions, the world isn't thrown out of balance, and so there's no need for a 'rest of the story' to balance it back.

- Stephen Graham Jones

Stupid, Rest, Stories, Rational

Most zombie stories, the problems they solve are not the actual zombies. The problems they solve are the human interactions.

- Stephen Graham Jones

Most, Stories, Actual, Interactions

I figure anytime you put an adjective before 'writer,' it's a way of dismissing the writer.

- Stephen Graham Jones

Before, Figure, Anytime, Adjective

We tell ourselves zombie stories to remind us we shouldn't live beyond the natural boundaries of life - or seek a third stage of life in this world.

- Stephen Graham Jones

Natural, Tell, Stories, Remind

The short story, it's not a step on the way to becoming a novelist.

- Stephen Graham Jones

Step, Short, Becoming, Novelist

Horror, of all the genres, is the only one that can provoke an involuntary visceral reaction.

- Stephen Graham Jones

Reaction, Horror, Visceral, Involuntary

In 1990, I was an undergraduate freshman archeology major sneaking over to the English building and unearthing an amazing repository of books I'd never even suspected. By 1998, I'd have my Ph.D.

- Stephen Graham Jones

Over, Suspected, Repository, Archeology

Joe Lansdale is one of the few writers able to write in whatever genre or mode he wants on any particular day. How? He doesn't ask permission. He just steps in, out-writes everybody in the room.

- Stephen Graham Jones

Everybody, Joe, Particular, Permission

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